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Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Hague, January 10, 2012. Petition 206, subject: resolve the long overdue redress.

STICHTING JAPANSE ERESCHULDEN

Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts

NGO,Status Roster

His Excellency Yoshihiko Noda

Prime Minister of Japan

The Hague, January 10,2012

Petition:206

Subject: resolve the long overdue redress.

Excellency,

The foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts on behalf of all the Dutch members and the board, wish the people of Japan, your cabinet and you personally a Happy New Year. Last year brought Japan disasters caused by nature and technology in addition to the global financial and economic perils. For 2012 the opportunities are there to demonstrate that Japan can and will overcome the unfortunate combined effects of last year and start as you so elegantly stated a Rebirth of Japan.

As to our dialogue we will continue to press for acknowledgement and respect for what the Dutch had to endure during the Japanese occupation of Dutch East Indies during World War Two and seek with you a resolve for the long overdue redress.

Prime Minister,

The physical and psychological damage to the individual victims of the Japanese occupation was considerable and still continues after 67 years, to haunt the surviving victims.During the negotiations of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty a side agreement for a compensation of the individual Dutch victims was concluded in principle. The nature of the damages was known-undue hardship-and the material consequences were agreed after strenuous and long negotiations through the exchange of letters between the the Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Yoshida, and the then Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Dirk U.Stikker. The protocol for a solatium of U.S.$10.000.000(less then U.S. $100 per victim) was signed May 13,1956. At the time of the negotiations insufficient consideration was taken of the lasting psychological effects of the damage during the Japanese occupation and in particular the role of the Japanese Military both in and outside the concentration camps. Both parties to the protocol must acknowledge this and come forward with suggestions to repair these terrible oversights.

The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts as a Non-Governmental organization recognized by the United Nations could establish an Honorary Fund which incorporates both the acknowledgement and reparations of these oversights, dealing directly with the Dutch victims.

We hope that we jointly achieve this in 2012 and can look forward to true cooperation and respect in settling this long overdue redress.

On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts,

J.F.van Wagtendonk

President.

This petition was delivered Tuesday , January 10.2012 to the Japanese Ambassador in The Hague.The Netherlands.

Return to Bandoeng, the Place I was born. It must have been about the beginning of January 1946, sixty six years ago today.

After years of being locked up, humiliation, tortured, starvation, and arbitrariness by our occupiers, the Japanese,we were free!

Freedom, however was very short lived.In spite of the fact that we were freed from the Japanese occupier we were locked up again in these camps. It was safer to stay in these camps, outside the camps it was very dangerous. Those who had left came back and some of them were never seen or heard from again. The shouting of 'merdeka' and 'blanda moesoe'( blanda enemy) we heard all over, the pemoeda's were ready to kill.

Our ex-enemy, the Japanese, had to protect us- every where shots were fired and we heard the pemoeda's shout;'merdeka'.

It was a crazy time.A very dangerous time.A mad house!

Finally sometime at the end of November, we were taken by trucks out this prison camp Banjoebiroe.My mother had to recover in ( I believe it was Semarang) where I went in an orphanage home with the nuns until my mother was healthy enough to be transported to Bandoeng. Sometime in March 1946, my mother heard that her husband Klaas had not survived.She was all alone without a husband, her family in Holland, and I without a father. No happiness for my mother, just grieve and so much pain.